A Kansas-based congregation that voted to disaffiliate from the largest Presbyterian denomination in the country has lost a legal battle over the church property.

The property of Presbyterian Church of Stanley, located in Overland Park with an estimated value of $4.4 million, belongs to the mainline denomination Presbyterian Church (USA), ruled Judge Kevin Moriarty earlier this month.

Eric Laverentz, senior pastor at Church of Stanley, told The Christian Post that he had a meeting with the judge on Thursday and said his congregation has 30 days to appeal the decision. more >>

The Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service vowed in a Senate hearing this week that the federal agency will not strip Christian colleges and universities of their tax-exempt statuses should those institutions refuse to update school policies to be more accommodating toward gay marriages.

Following the Supreme Court decision in June that nationally legalized same-sex marriages, fears have dramatically risen that Christian colleges and institutions could be stripped of their tax-exempt statuses if they don't compromise their biblical beliefs on the subject of same-sex marriage.

But IRS Commissioner, John Koskinen, told Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, in a Judiciary Oversight Subcommittee hearing on Wednesday that he will commit to making sure that the IRS does not punish religious schools for not adopting policies to accommodate gay marriage — such as allowing married same-sex couples to live in married student housing — as long as he is in charge of the IRS. more >>

A judge has ruled that a Ten Commandments monument located on the grounds of a Pennsylvania high school can remain.

In a decision rendered earlier this week, U.S. District Judge Terrence F. McVerry ruled in favor of New Kensington-Arnold School District against the arguments of an atheist group.

"Plaintiffs … have failed to establish that they were forced to come into 'direct, regular, and unwelcome contact with the' Ten Commandments monument on the grounds of Valley High School," wrote Judge McVerry.more >>

The Philippines Department of Justice has issued a subpoena against rapper Chris Brown for allegedly defrauding a Christian church out of $1 million after he canceled a performance at a New Years Eve event and failed to return the money.

Brown's name appears on the subpoena along with Canadian promoter John Michael Pio Roda after a $1 million estafa complaint was filed due to the singer skipping a scheduled musical performance for the Church of Christ in the Philippines, which is called Iglesia ni Cristo, on Dec. 31, 2014, at the Philippine Arena.

According to GMA online Brown and Roda were paid $1 million in advance and canceled without paying any of the money back. more >>

A public school district in Georgia will have to pay a humanist organization $22,500 through its insurance carriers after the organization sued the school system over allegations that local high school coaches led their teams in prayers and included biblical passages on official team log books and promotional banners.

In December, the American Humanist Association filed a lawsuit against the the Hall County School District in Gainesville, Georgia, over the district's practices of allowing coaches and other faculty to lead in team prayer during official school events and allowing Bible verses to be printed on team documents.

After sending warning letters to the school district last August, the lawsuit called out the prayer traditions of various athletic teams from Chestatee High School and North Hall High School. more >>

A Christian student at the University of Cape Town was forced out of her position at the institution after she posted a message on Facebook deemed "anti-gay marriage."

Commenting on the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges that struck down all state-level gay marriage bans, Zizipho Pae, an economics and statistics major, was forced out of the Student Representative Council last week because she accused society of "normalizing sin."